The Romanian government will extend state guarantees under a new scheme dedicated to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) seeking to contract bank loans for investments or working capital, according to a draft ordinance published for public debate.

The budget of the scheme, dibbed IMM Plus, is RON 12.5 billion, and the individual state aid will be EUR 2.5 billion per firm or public administration entity, according to Ziarul Financiar quoting the document.

The "budget” refers, however, to the volume of loans that the government aims to guarantee – while the cost of the scheme for the state (the actual budget) consists of the insurance fee and part of the interest owed by the debtor to the bank.

The firms in agriculture/fishery will be allowed to borrow up to EUR 280,000 and EUR 335,000, respectively.

Finance minister Marcel Bolos explained that the companies and recipients of the IMM Invest scheme (similar to IMM Plus) reported, on average, a 9% rise in their turnover – which encouraged the government to continue supporting the companies.

Separately, the IMM Invest scheme was highly instrumental in helping banks extend corporate loans.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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